 |
||||||
|
home | news | site index |
||||||
|
1. This clause substitutes a new paragraph (a) and amends paragraph (b) of subsection (7) of section 62 of the Finance Act 1996. These subsections specify the cases in which regulations may treat material comprised in a disposal and held temporarily as not being a taxable disposal. The amendment to subsection (b) is a consequential one, to ensure consistency with the wording introduced by the amendment to the introductory words of paragraph (a). The change takes effect from the time of Royal Assent to the Finance Bill.
3. Subparagraph (ii) of 62(7)(a) repeats the existing provisions and provides provides that regulations may only treat a disposal as not being a taxable disposal to the extent that the material is held temporarily pending the removal of the material for use elsewhere. 4. Subparagraph (iii) of 62(7)(a) is a new provision and provides that regulations may only treat a disposal as not being a taxable disposal to the extent that the material is held temporarily pending the use of the material (which must be "qualifying material") to restore the site, or part of the site, on completion of waste disposal operations at the site or part. Section 42(3) defines qualifying material as material for the time being listed in an order made for this purpose. The current order is the Landfill Tax (Qualifying Material) Order 1996, S.I. 1996 No. 1529. 5. Subparagraph (iv) of 62(7)(a) repeats the existing provisions and provides that regulations may only treat a disposal as not being a taxable disposal to the extent that the material is held temporarily pending the sorting of the material with a view to its removal elsewhere or its eventual disposal.
6. The March 1998 report by HM Customs and Excise on the review of the operation and level of landfill tax found that the tax had contributed to a shortfall in the availability of suitable inert material for the filling of working and old quarries and the restoration of landfill sites. To redress this, it recommended that inert wastes used to restore sites and to fill old and existing mineral workings should be exempted from landfill tax. It also recommended that it should be introduced from October 1999, to allow the details of its operation to be discussed with the trade and for the introduction of supporting secondary legislation. 7. At the time of the March 1999 Budget it was announced that an exemption would be introduced on 1 October 1999 for inert waste used to restore landfill sites and to fill working and old quarries where there existed a planning condition or obligation to fill the void. The exemption was introduced by the Landfill Tax (Site Restoration and Quarries) Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/ 2075), which came into force on 1st October 1999, amending the Finance Act 1996. 8. Also, from 1 October 1999, the rules allowing disposals that are temporary were extended, on an extra-statutory basis, to allow the storage or sorting of inactive material for future use in landfill site restoration or the filling of quarries. This allowed site operators to store and use restoration materials without incurring tax in those cases where the material could not be placed immediately onto the area of the site being restored or filled. 9. This clause extends the regulation making powers relating to disposals that are temporary, to allow regulations to exempt disposals of qualifying material which is subsequently used to restore a landfill site or backfill a quarry. This legislates for what is already allowed on an extra-statutory basis. It gives certainty to the waste management industry, facilitates the rapid restoration of sites, reduces the impact on the landscape and promotes the use of waste soils to the benefit of the environment. |
||||||
© Crown Copyright | home |